Instruments of Time and Truth - described on BBC Record Review as “an absolutely superb band of instrumental soloists” - was founded in 2014 by musicians Gabriel Amherst and Judith Evans to provide a platform for international performers based in and around Oxford.

Since its founding, IT&T has become a cornerstone of Oxford’s musical life. Central to its mission are performances of rarely heard masterpieces - among them Zelenka’s Requiem, Caldara’s Maddalena ai Piedi di Cristo, and Marcello’s Psalm 50 - extraordinary works that might otherwise remain unheard. These rediscoveries are brought to life with the vitality and passion that define the ensemble’s music-making under the direction of Edward Higginbottom and Christopher Bucknall. Alongside these rarities, IT&T continues to present inspired performances of the great landmarks of 17th & 18th - century repertoire, from Handel and Bach to their many contemporaries.

The orchestra performs frequently in the Sheldonian Theatre, the Holywell Music Room, SJE Arts, Dorchester Abbey, and many of Oxford’s churches and chapels, and has appeared at Garsington Opera at Wormsley, Longborough Festival Opera, the Divine Office Festival, and the Tetbury Festival.

A vital contributor to Oxford’s renowned choral tradition, IT&T regularly collaborates with the choirs of Christ Church, Keble, Merton, New, Magdalen, The Queen’s, Somerville, and St Peter’s Colleges, as well as with community ensembles including New College School, Frideswide Voices, the Oxford Bach Choir, Oxford Girls’ Choir, Oxford Pro Musica Singers, Schola Cantorum of Oxford, St Edward’s Singers, and the Summertown Choral Society.

Beyond Oxford, the orchestra has appeared at Kings Place and Wilton’s Music Hall in London, De Montfort Hall in Leicester, Peterborough Cathedral, and Bath’s Assembly Rooms as part of the West Country Choral Festival, as well as the Stour Festival in Kent. Internationally, IT&T has performed in France, Spain, the Canary Islands, and at the Valletta Baroque Festival in Malta.

IT&T maintains a close relationship with the University of Oxford’s Faculty of Music, coaching the student baroque ensemble, giving masterclasses, and contributing to conferences on historically informed performance. Its education programme, which brings the University’s musical resources to local schools, received national recognition in 2019, when the innovative InSpires project won the OMEP Music Partnership Cup at the Music Hub Gala Awards. The scheme continues to be praised for its pioneering approach to introducing young people to period instruments and performance practice through workshops, coaching, and individual tuition.